User: Reflections on the narrativization of self within social networking sites: A presentation and discussion of the processes involved in the development of a creative work-in-progress

This article explores the subject of narrative and self within social media contexts through a presentation and discussion of the project and processes involved in the development of creative writing work-in-progress. The activity has taken place over an eighteen-month period from February 2009–September 2010 with support from the National Lottery Fund through Arts Council East, Arc Digital, CODE and the new writing development scheme Gold Dust. The work undertaken so far consists of the completion of a novel manuscript entitled User and preliminary investigations into how elements of the novel could be extended online. The work aims to be a dual platform in both subject and form; offering a traditionally authored text about where our online and offline worlds intersect as well as a meaningful intertextual digital experience that invites readers to respond to the work in critical and creative ways.